I am from Germany and I was born Syrian Orthodox but left the church when I repented 10 years ago. Since then I am Evangelical. But because I recognized the true teaching of baptism some weeks ago, I became more open to orthodoxy again. Your videos help me a lot. Especially the video "How Mary Saves Us" opened my eyes to the fact that the Orthodox do not practice idolatry. In two days it will be the first time for many many years now for me to attend an Orthodox liturgy and I am really looking forward to finally receive the Eucharist again. God bless you and strengthen you, dear Father.
Non-denominational Christian here. I have never heard binding and loosing explained this way and it makes so much sense! Thank you. I’m heavily researching Orthodoxy and really appreciate all your videos. Please pray for God’s guidance for myself an my husband.
Orthodoxy is a lifelong journey-not “one and done”. In seeking the Ancient/True Faith I moved from Protestant to Catholic and finally found the Orthodox Church 3 years ago. I’m still “new”. My Spiritual Father converted 40 years ago and tells me “join the club” when I complain that I still have so much to learn. May the Lord bless our efforts. 🙏🏻☦️
@@gigig2492same for me, and I've been in THE CHURCH for almost 40 years now. We must pray for each other and always remember we belong together, and together with God.
Imagine: All of the people in the wilderness claiming equal authority as Moses and Aaron; with equal access to the Tent of Meeting, before the presence and council of God. Everyone saying, “the LORD said…” It is why Protestants have so many schisms amongst themselves, (myself included- still not Orthodox yet). But this is what happens when everyone assumes the priesthood. It is like everyone claiming to be a doctor in the midst of a pandemic. No, you need to go to a real doctor, who has been ordained, as it were, by a medical board etc. We need priests.
Imagine when the priests start teaching things against clear Scripture and are not held accountable. Against what benchmark can we check for the truth?
@@dave1370 The scriptures… and further than that, the apostolic interpretation of scripture. Every Christian denomination- especially the Protestants, claim the Bible to be their source of truth. But even Protestants make up their own interpretations and teach heresy. On the other hand, I’ve learned much from Catholics who handle the scriptures correctly. It all depends on the priest/pastor handling it. It’s like a car. Anyone can get behind the wheel, but experience and proper instruction will always produce the safest drivers.
@@JoshAlicea1229 Can you tell me when the word for priest, in whatever language, first appeared? I don't see the Apostles addressed this way in scripture, or Paul discussing it in his letters.
@@PETERJOHN101 One of the reasons why you don’t see or hear about Christian priests in the NT is because the Christians were technically a Jewish sect until there was greater distinction made between Jews and Christians. After the distinction was made sometime after the NT was written- writers like Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch wrote, shortly after the death the John the Apostle, about the offices of Bishop and Presbyter as two different offices. As early as AD 96 and 107 we start to hear about the priesthood as it’s own distinct office under the Bishop, and over the Diaconate. The word Presbyter is closely tied to both the priesthood and the bishop role in the NT. Some of these early Presbyters were Titus in Crete and Timothy in Ephesus.
@@JoshAlicea1229 Thank you, but my primary concern is the absence of discussion by Paul of the confessional, arguably the most important rite of the Church. How is this not examined in Paul's writing? I appreciate your response.
I am a little confused by this lesson, Father Josiah. I know there are various Orthodox traditions regarding the text of the prayers of absolution. I don't recall a priest ever announcing to me that by his power he is the one doing the forgiving. It seems they ask God to forgive based on His great mercy and my sincere repentance. Then they announce something called absolution. I understand the priest can withhold this prayer. Why the two different words? By absolving is the priest announcing he doesn't see any obstacles to God forgiving my sins?
I think it's important to not lump all Protestants into one category. It's really unfair. For example, Confessional Lutherans are very, very different than American Evangelical types. Now I'm certainly aware of the East's arguments against the Solas. Having said that, one should at least recognize that some Protestants hold to Christ's real actual bodily Presence in the Eucharistic, Baptismal regeneration, the role of the clergy in forgiveness of sins, liturgy, reading the Fathers, creeds, etc.
I was originally baptized into the Lutheran church at 11 but we never actually attended. I later chose to be baptized in a Pentecostal assembly, but did not permanently affiliate. I have since embraced the theology of the Orthodoxy, but don't attend because there is no ROCOR near me. My issue with the priesthood is that I see nothing in Paul's writings to establish a doctrine for it. He talks about literally everything affecting ecclesiastical life, but not the confessional? What am I missing?
Doesnt the transferring of the ability to forgive sins then make Mark 2 no longer a proof text for the deity if Christ? Since in that case God _gave_ Jesus the authority to forgive sins after adopting him as his son at the baptism. Jesus doesn't need to _be_ God in any sense for this to work out.
I would say that Christ, as God incarnated, eternally begotten, had the authority to forgive sins from eternity past to the cross, by His name, in other words, His divine power and authority. However, the cross and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, which reunites mankind back to Him, opened the door again to a fuller participation in His grace. So, post-crucifixion, the Apostles and others to follow, could now forgive sins in HIS name, by HIS power. Note, the distinction between Christ forgiving sins by His own authority and the Apostles forgiving sins BY or IN His name. To me, this reality, doesn’t take away from or negate Christ’s divinity, but it witnesses to it and only magnifies it. Christ is ascended!
"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one." - John 17:22 "I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love with which thou loves me may be in them, and I in them." - John 17:26 The forgiveness of sins absolutely requires the divinity of Christ because prior to the Incarnation, the only way for sins to be forigven was through blood sacrifice and burnt offerings. He could not have forgiven sins without being fully divine, and we could not be forgiven otherwise without his intercession. The Prayer from the Great Book of Needs for the forgiveness of sins states as follows: "Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, by the grace and compassion of his love to man, forgive thee, child, all thine iniquities; and I, an unworthy priest, by the power that is given unto me, forgive thee and loosen thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Hope this helps, may God bless you.
@@makingsmokesince76 but divinity wouldnt be _necessary_ for jesus to forgive sins, right? If God makes him the authorized bearer of his name and some of his responsibilities, he could as a human forgive sins sin God's name, right?
@@stnilus3294 sure, im not doing an _entire_ takedown of the deity of christ in this comment, so stuff in John does probably prove me wrong But Mark 2 itself, is that enough to be a prooftext for divinity? Since it could be God giving Jesus the authority to forgive sins, as a human agent that is the bearer of the divine name, just as Jesus later passes that ability on to the disciples
@@Greyz174 Please note I am merely a layman. So, ultimately, you should discuss and verify what I am sharing with a spiritual father. This is my understanding: God, didn’t make Christ “an authorised bearer” of His name, at any one point in time, so unless I am misunderstanding you, what you are describing sounds to me like Arianism. To be clear, Christ, was never a human person named Jesus of Nazareth. He is in fact, the second Person of the Trinity, the Godhead. He is God, the Son, incarnated, made man. So, what He has conferred to the Apostles or whatever He gifts anyone else, is from or by His divine nature and authority. We, as creatures, could never appropriate anything from His actual divine nature, which, He only shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can only ever hope to receive something from the Lord God by His mercy and grace. Hence, we pray, bless, forgive etc. in His name. Understood?
former Catholic current non denominational Protestant here
Father Josiah is leading me into more Truth
pray for me
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
God bless you!
🙏
Thanks to Fr Josiah for his online ministry.
I am from Germany and I was born Syrian Orthodox but left the church when I repented 10 years ago. Since then I am Evangelical. But because I recognized the true teaching of baptism some weeks ago, I became more open to orthodoxy again. Your videos help me a lot. Especially the video "How Mary Saves Us" opened my eyes to the fact that the Orthodox do not practice idolatry. In two days it will be the first time for many many years now for me to attend an Orthodox liturgy and I am really looking forward to finally receive the Eucharist again. God bless you and strengthen you, dear Father.
Non-denominational Christian here. I have never heard binding and loosing explained this way and it makes so much sense! Thank you. I’m heavily researching Orthodoxy and really appreciate all your videos. Please pray for God’s guidance for myself an my husband.
Praise be to God for His one holy apostolic church, amen!
Praise God.
Thank God for showing us love through our priest.
Always a blessing to hear your words, Father.
Thank you Fr. Josiah for delivering the truth of the one true faith!
Thank you, Father.
Thanks for sharing
God give you strength Father Josiah!
Dear father, thank you again. I'm only 6 weeks catecumen and haven't a clue. To be honest I find all this strange and new. Lord help me.
Orthodoxy is a lifelong journey-not “one and done”. In seeking the Ancient/True Faith I moved from Protestant to Catholic and finally found the Orthodox Church 3 years ago. I’m still “new”. My Spiritual Father converted 40 years ago and tells me “join the club” when I complain that I still have so much to learn. May the Lord bless our efforts. 🙏🏻☦️
@@gigig2492same for me, and I've been in THE CHURCH for almost 40 years now. We must pray for each other and always remember we belong together, and together with God.
Imagine: All of the people in the wilderness claiming equal authority as Moses and Aaron; with equal access to the Tent of Meeting, before the presence and council of God.
Everyone saying, “the LORD said…” It is why Protestants have so many schisms amongst themselves, (myself included- still not Orthodox yet). But this is what happens when everyone assumes the priesthood. It is like everyone claiming to be a doctor in the midst of a pandemic. No, you need to go to a real doctor, who has been ordained, as it were, by a medical board etc. We need priests.
Imagine when the priests start teaching things against clear Scripture and are not held accountable. Against what benchmark can we check for the truth?
@@dave1370 The scriptures… and further than that, the apostolic interpretation of scripture. Every Christian denomination- especially the Protestants, claim the Bible to be their source of truth. But even Protestants make up their own interpretations and teach heresy. On the other hand, I’ve learned much from Catholics who handle the scriptures correctly. It all depends on the priest/pastor handling it. It’s like a car. Anyone can get behind the wheel, but experience and proper instruction will always produce the safest drivers.
@@JoshAlicea1229
Can you tell me when the word for priest, in whatever language, first appeared? I don't see the Apostles addressed this way in scripture, or Paul discussing it in his letters.
@@PETERJOHN101 One of the reasons why you don’t see or hear about Christian priests in the NT is because the Christians were technically a Jewish sect until there was greater distinction made between Jews and Christians. After the distinction was made sometime after the NT was written- writers like Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch wrote, shortly after the death the John the Apostle, about the offices of Bishop and Presbyter as two different offices. As early as AD 96 and 107 we start to hear about the priesthood as it’s own distinct office under the Bishop, and over the Diaconate.
The word Presbyter is closely tied to both the priesthood and the bishop role in the NT. Some of these early Presbyters were Titus in Crete and Timothy in Ephesus.
@@JoshAlicea1229
Thank you, but my primary concern is the absence of discussion by Paul of the confessional, arguably the most important rite of the Church. How is this not examined in Paul's writing? I appreciate your response.
I am a little confused by this lesson, Father Josiah. I know there are various Orthodox traditions regarding the text of the prayers of absolution. I don't recall a priest ever announcing to me that by his power he is the one doing the forgiving. It seems they ask God to forgive based on His great mercy and my sincere repentance. Then they announce something called absolution. I understand the priest can withhold this prayer. Why the two different words? By absolving is the priest announcing he doesn't see any obstacles to God forgiving my sins?
I think it's important to not lump all Protestants into one category. It's really unfair. For example, Confessional Lutherans are very, very different than American Evangelical types. Now I'm certainly aware of the East's arguments against the Solas. Having said that, one should at least recognize that some Protestants hold to Christ's real actual bodily Presence in the Eucharistic, Baptismal regeneration, the role of the clergy in forgiveness of sins, liturgy, reading the Fathers, creeds, etc.
I was originally baptized into the Lutheran church at 11 but we never actually attended. I later chose to be baptized in a Pentecostal assembly, but did not permanently affiliate. I have since embraced the theology of the Orthodoxy, but don't attend because there is no ROCOR near me.
My issue with the priesthood is that I see nothing in Paul's writings to establish a doctrine for it. He talks about literally everything affecting ecclesiastical life, but not the confessional? What am I missing?
John 20 refers to spreading the gospel.see true real teaching.
Doesnt the transferring of the ability to forgive sins then make Mark 2 no longer a proof text for the deity if Christ?
Since in that case God _gave_ Jesus the authority to forgive sins after adopting him as his son at the baptism. Jesus doesn't need to _be_ God in any sense for this to work out.
I would say that Christ, as God incarnated, eternally begotten, had the authority to forgive sins from eternity past to the cross, by His name, in other words, His divine power and authority. However, the cross and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, which reunites mankind back to Him, opened the door again to a fuller participation in His grace. So, post-crucifixion, the Apostles and others to follow, could now forgive sins in HIS name, by HIS power. Note, the distinction between Christ forgiving sins by His own authority and the Apostles forgiving sins BY or IN His name. To me, this reality, doesn’t take away from or negate Christ’s divinity, but it witnesses to it and only magnifies it. Christ is ascended!
"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one." - John 17:22
"I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love with which thou loves me may be in them, and I in them." - John 17:26
The forgiveness of sins absolutely requires the divinity of Christ because prior to the Incarnation, the only way for sins to be forigven was through blood sacrifice and burnt offerings. He could not have forgiven sins without being fully divine, and we could not be forgiven otherwise without his intercession. The Prayer from the Great Book of Needs for the forgiveness of sins states as follows:
"Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, by the grace and compassion of his love to man, forgive thee, child, all thine iniquities; and I, an unworthy priest, by the power that is given unto me, forgive thee and loosen thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Hope this helps, may God bless you.
@@makingsmokesince76 but divinity wouldnt be _necessary_ for jesus to forgive sins, right? If God makes him the authorized bearer of his name and some of his responsibilities, he could as a human forgive sins sin God's name, right?
@@stnilus3294 sure, im not doing an _entire_ takedown of the deity of christ in this comment, so stuff in John does probably prove me wrong
But Mark 2 itself, is that enough to be a prooftext for divinity? Since it could be God giving Jesus the authority to forgive sins, as a human agent that is the bearer of the divine name, just as Jesus later passes that ability on to the disciples
@@Greyz174 Please note I am merely a layman. So, ultimately, you should discuss and verify what I am sharing with a spiritual father. This is my understanding: God, didn’t make Christ “an authorised bearer” of His name, at any one point in time, so unless I am misunderstanding you, what you are describing sounds to me like Arianism. To be clear, Christ, was never a human person named Jesus of Nazareth. He is in fact, the second Person of the Trinity, the Godhead. He is God, the Son, incarnated, made man. So, what He has conferred to the Apostles or whatever He gifts anyone else, is from or by His divine nature and authority. We, as creatures, could never appropriate anything from His actual divine nature, which, He only shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can only ever hope to receive something from the Lord God by His mercy and grace. Hence, we pray, bless, forgive etc. in His name. Understood?